Up to now, the reconditioning of toner cartridges comprising a container attached to an element provided with a magnetic roller requires the mechanical separation of the toner container from the element bearing the magnetic for the replacement of the sealing member, the replacement of the sealing member by a new sealing member, and the mechanical and/or chemical attachment of the toner container and the element together.
Such a reconditioning is therefore time consuming and causes damages at each reconditioning step due to the mechanical separation of the container from the element bearing the magnetic roller.
The present invention aims to obviate these drawbacks.
The invention relates to a member for sealing an opening of a container of a toner cartridge including an element provided with a roller for the transfer of toner particles, the element being adapted to be separated from the container. The member includes:
a film with central strip intended to be torn off;
a pulling member bound to the central strip;
means for attaching the sealing member on the toner cartridge so that the film seals the opening, and
means adapted to extend between a surface of the container and a surface of the element provided with the roller, said means being provided with hot melt means adapted for attaching the toner container with the element.
Preferably, the means adapted to extend between a surface of the container and a surface of the element is a portion of the film.
The invention relates also to a process for reconditioning a toner cartridge, in which the toner container and the element provided with the roller are separated from each other. After removal of the remaining part of the sealing film from the container, a sealing member of the invention is attached on the container so as to ensure the sealing of the opening of the container. The element is placed with respect to the container so that the hot melt means are located between a surface of the element and a surface of the container. The element and container are then bound together by heating the hot melt means, by pressing the heated hot melt means between the element and the container, and by cooling the hot melt means while maintaining a pressure between the element and the container.